British families sue TikTok over children’s deaths

Five British families are suing TikTok over the deaths of their children in a landmark US case.

The parents, who will attend the hearing in Delaware on Friday, are the first families from the UK to pursue legal action against the company in an American court over the deaths of their children.

The lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s algorithms promoted and amplified dangerous content to children, including material linked to the so-called “Blackout Challenge”. The families claim that this content contributed to their children’s deaths and that the company has repeatedly refused to release the data needed to understand what their children were exposed to in the critical period before they died.

Ms Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools died after taking part in an online challenge in April 2022, previously told The Independent: “In light of what’s happened, I’ve learned an awful lot about online activity that I was very naive about before.

“I thought Jools was merrily watching silly dance videos, or harmless challenges like standing on your hands and pulling your t-shirt upside down. I now know there’s masses of harmful and illegal content. [Online safety law changes] can’t come soon enough. I don’t want any other family going through what we will have to for the rest of our lives.”

British families sue TikTok over children’s deaths in landmark case